Colombian authorities dismiss army members for extrajudicial killings . [View all]

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Colombia Reports

Colombian authorities dismiss army members for extrajudicial killings .
Tuesday, 09 October 2012 12:23 Caitlin Trent

Five army men have been dismissed on Tuesday from the Colombian Army and barred from running for public office for 20 years in reprisal for the extrajudicial killing of two helpless indigenous women who they passed off as guerrilla members killed in combat.

Radio Santa Fe reported that the Inspector General's Office convicted the five men for killing two defenseless indigenous women in 2004 in the town of Manuare, located in the very northern Guajira department of Colombia, in a phenomenon that has become known as "false positives."

The action was carried out on June 8, 2004 when the soldiers entered a ranch in the town and shot the two indigenous women in the back, claiming that the civilians were killed during combat. However according to local media, evidence in the case showed that "the two deceased did not fire any weapons and as related by family and friends who have credibility in their claims said that they ran in fear when they saw the troops."

The military personnel affected by the inspector's decision included a captain, two sergeants, and two professional soldiers.

Read more: http://colombiareports.com/colombia-news/news/26422-colombian-authorities-dismiss-army-members-for-extrajudicial-killings.html

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Paramilitaries (death squad) moving through a village.[/center]